What are we reading?

[Gusington]

^I've read a lot of those stories. Glen Cook is one of my heroes because he supposedly did most of his writing while he was supposed to be rotting away in a cubicle at GM :)

[MetalDog]

I found the first series better than the second.  It was a good read though.

[Pinetree]

What I'm enjoying the most is the banter between the characters, especially two of the magicians. One part had me crying with laughter. 

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Thin Black Line is pretty good. I'm about 2/3 the way through.

I had no idea Canada had SF types in the RCMP as well as JTF2. That's pretty cool. I knew there was swat type roles in the big cities, never thought more about it. Apparently the guy that wrote it was the real deal.

The other thing that is interesting about the book is the idea that the people doing these CT roles are badly pressed for response time. The author has a youtube vid where he said he got that feedback in several countries when asking around. The premise in the book is there is this new organization set up that does not have to wait, they just go. Legally that idea is scary, no oversight, no accountability. On the other hand, in the book, there are situations where time is critical. Small windows come up to stop the attacks. Waiting is failing. It's something worth thinking about. Where is the right balance? Does the balance shift if there is a lot of threats?

The writing is fairly good too.

[OJsDad]

Finished the five book Invasion USA series by Vaughn Heppner.  Give it a 2 out of 5.

There was so much potential there but if fell completely short.  All of the dialog between the characters were almost strictly one liners.  You could tell that either he didn't read it over very well and or no one else read it over.  I felt too often that I was reading something written by a sixth grader.

From military point of view, he didn't seem to have any knowledge of tactics or strategic warfare.  It seemed like everything was solved with millions of soldiers on each side, wave attacks, and high body counts.  The American's develop a space based kinetic weapon, and uses it on merchant ships sending troops and supplies from China to Mexico.  Why not go after the Chinese land anti-satellite bases so you can get spy sats back into orbit.  Or hit their power grid and docks.  Allow the subs to go after the mechies. 

The US has an energy crisis at the beginning of the series, but never seems to be an issue after the first book, especially after losing control of the Alaskan oil fields.

In the first two books, the USAF is getting it's arse kicked up one side and down the other.  By the third book, they're holding their own and giving better than they take, but there is no new system that accounts for this.  There is no explanation for it at all. 

I could go on with all of the issues but not much point.

I Read (or listened to) the series as well, and I agree with all the issues. I did manage to enjoy it though. Despite the problems, the story-telling was pretty good and it didn't unfold predictably. Once I just let go of any hope for realism it became much more enjoyable.

Agree.

[vyshka]

I finished In Enemy Hands and started Caliban's War. I also received a gift card to Barnes & Noble yesterday and after it popping up on here repeatedly I decided to get The Chronicles of the Black  Company .  So that will probably be next on the list.

[Gusington]

Starting The World of Ice & Fire...a history of Westeros by George RR Martin, Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson. Not sure if I can read this like a regular book, it is more of an encyclopedia of Westeros. Good thing to read before I get started with the most recent season of the series, finally.

[vyshka]

Finished Caliban's War over the weekend. I picked up a couple of novellas related to the series and will probably read those before the rest of the series. Going to start in on Chronicles of the Black Company this week.

[Staggerwing]

Finished Caliban's War over the weekend. I picked up a couple of novellas related to the series and will probably read those before the rest of the series. Going to start in on Chronicles of the Black Company this week.

In case it's not been mentioned in this thread already, the Syfy Channel's adaptation of the first book, Leviathan Wakes, is due out this year. The tv series is to be titled 'The Expanse'.

[JasonPratt]

Just a note that I've made my Cry of Justice novel freely available as a pdf download here at Grogheads: http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=14075.0 (also currently in my sig). No ads or anything like that; if you want to pay at Amazon, instructions on how to do so are in the opening post.

[Gusington]

^Thank you!

[JasonPratt]

LET MY PRETENSIOUSNESS FLOW THROUGH YOU!!  >:D More than usually I mean.  :))

[Gusington]

Just keep giving us those 100000 word posts and everything will be fine.

[JasonPratt]

That reminds me, I still have a 1st Battle of Bull Run AAR to finish posting (and playing to some extent). What happens after I brilliantly win the battle a few hours into it with only two regiments? And can I possibly make it somewhat interesting to read?  >:D ::) :P

[Gusington]

If any man is up to the challenge, it's you Pratt.